Anon about Louis being in an odd place, yes, it does appear so, and I too am rather amused - and curious if I'm honest. Is this going to be just a short term thing or does he have to have years' long relationships with everyone he goes out with once?
But overall, my stance is this: Louis is grown. He's away from Syco and Sony. He has a team and a label that adore him, maybe they aren't "the best" but they are doing a decent job and they have his back when no one did before. His music is the best it's ever been and he's happy and content right now.
So whatever this is, for however long it lasts, it's because this is Louis' choice. Would he choose something else if the world was a different place? Maybe. Maybe not.
However, the world is not a different place, he's made his choices and after all these years, can we not try to second guess him about every goddamn thing?
Love him, love the music, and let his personal life be whatever he's telling us it is, we don't have a very good track record when we're trying to insist that it's what WE think it is.
"So come on, call me a liar, you're so quick to judge."
Happy to! Might not be the best since I don't write much Sophie, but I hope you enjoy it! It’s also a bit short, but I think it’s good.
The summer breeze whistled through the leaves as the kids busied themselves in the piano room. Louis and Sophie did, at least. It was kind of like a tradition at this point. Louis would play piano and Sophie would draw whatever came to mind as he did. There was a certain serenity to it that they both enjoyed. Plus, after months of being constantly surrounded by chaos, it was nice to have somewhere that was more settled.
"Hey, Lou, what song are you playing?" the redhead asked, suddenly appearing next to him on the bench.
He shrugged. "My mom used to play it. I don't remember what it's called."
"Sounds pretty. Can I try?"
Louis was a bit flustered at that. Not that she knew it, but he may have had a teeny (read: huge) crush on her for the past couple of years. However, he nodded along and placed her fingers on the keys. The way she played was clumsy but endearing.
Even if it sounded horrible, he was happy to listen because she was… Sophie. If he used any other words to describe her, it wouldn’t do her justice. Hell, even if he had every word in the universe, there would be nothing that could describe her properly.
She stopped playing, a scowl on her face as she glared at the keys. “Piano is hard.”
“Maybe you should take lessons,” he said, starting up the song again. “Oooor, I can teach you.”
Sophie was skeptical. “Oh, really? You?”
“I’m not that bad of a teacher, Soph.”
“I beg to differ.”
He rolled his eyes and continued playing as she tuned back into her drawing. He paused for a moment once she settled. “I will teach you. If you want.”
“Might take you up on it,” she replied.
-
About a week later, Sophie did indeed ask for him for a lesson. But… that wasn’t quite what ensued. Instead, there was a confession and a kiss. Louis went back to his dorm for the night in shock.
Sophie - the amazing, wonderful, star-striking girl he’d been crushing on for the past year - felt the same way about him that he felt about her. It was enough to make his heart race through the night. And race his heart did every day after that.
“T-There’s no way you can be serious r-right now..” Sophie tried and failed to contain her chuckles.
The culprit of her giggle symphony was her boyfriend, Louis Alexandre Troy, and the object of the crime was a little black cat, kinda lost about the events that were just happening right now.
-Except I am, Mylady. Louis smiled brightly at the love of his life, the Irish-American ginger that went by the name of Sophie Marie Evergreen.
“I 100% want to adopt this little ball of fur and adorableness.” He said as he held the cat to her.
Sophie took a look at the cat, feeling her heart warming from the cuteness of the animal...
Then she shook her head, looking at the ground and sounding unsure -I...I’m sorry, but.. I-I can’t.
Louis’ smile dropped as his heart did the same. He had that special ‘connection’ with Sophie, when one of them was happy, the other was, but the contrary was true too, when one felt down, the other felt bad too.
-Sophie...What’s wrong ? He asked as he put the cat on the ground.
Sophie stiffened, not looking at him -N-Nothing...It’s just...Jesus Christ, I’m so stupid--
-Hey.
Sophie suddenly felt both Louis’ hands on her shoulders, and turned to meet his gaze. His chocolate browns eyes were marked of worry, genuine care for her.
“Soph, I know hundreds, thousands of adjective that could describe you : Charming, sweet, amazing, caring, beautiful, talented, brave...”
-That’s only 7 adjectives, If i counted right. Sophie smirked, giggling at her favorite dork.
Louis playfully rose an eyebrow, smirking too -I have more, I might just need a entire day to recite them entirely, but would you really want that ?
Sophie scratched her cheek, pretending to think -Let me think...All things considered, nope ! She chuckled.
-Aw, too bad... Louis playfully frowned, not without cracking a little chuckle too.
“What I want to say is...’Stupid’ is an adjective that I’d never use, nor think to use about you. Ever.” Louis said, observing the expression in Sophie’s entrancing blue sky eyes changing. She looked at him with care, worship, love.
“So whatever problems you have with black cats, I won’t blame you, nor be angry at you for it. I understand cats aren’t in everyone’s Top 10 of prefered animals, even if they are adorable...” He continued as he looked at his adopted cat, sleeping on a quite worn seat.
-It’s not my case... Sophie shyly looked away.
-What do you mean ? Louis asked.
-Well... Sophie scratched her neck, uneased “Remember when I told you about how religious my family was ?”
-Yes, but what is the link with-- Louis eyes’ widen as he understood, he thought ?.. “Wait, are you, like...” He started to say,
-Superstitious ? Yes, I am... Sophie finished. “Black Cat is a symbol of misfortune, disaster, and we definitely DON’T need more sh-” She cut herself from swearing “--Mess to happen right now, don’t you think ?”
Louis frowned, before he answered : -Of course I don’t. But...
-But what ?
-I never critiziced your faith, Soph. You can believe in whoever and whatever you want, I don’t mind. But...
Louis pointed the little black cat “I know, that the beautiful, witted, reasonable believer that you are, finds ridiculous thinking that a little cat might cause us more harm than the walkers outside.”
Sophie paused, thinking. Louis had a point...
She sighed, and looked at him again -You’re sure it’s not...risky ? What if it bites me ?
Louis looked at her, with his caring look she grew to love... -It’s a matter of...Can we say faith ? I suppose. It’s a matter of trust, or faith. If you’re not scared, and if you’re gentle, there’s no reason it’ll attack you. I promise.
He took her hand, and walked to the cat, who was still laying on the seat, looking at them with curiosity.
-Hi, kitty. Louis softly said. “You don’t mind us petting you, do you ?”
Sophie playfully rolled her eyes, as Louis guided her hand to the animal’s fur. She started to pet the cat, and after few seconds, he purred and went by himself to her touch.
-Aww... Sophie smiled. Then she asked : “We adopt him, right ?”
Louis nodded, with a brigth grin -Yup.
-So...How do we name him ? She asked him. And before he could answer, she smirked and added “Katy, or Cathy doesn’t count.”
-Aw man, seriously ? Why ? Louis whined, like a child who has just been refused to have an ice cream.
-Because I know my ‘Happy goofy jokester’ can found a better name. She couldn’t help but to laugh at his ridiculously funny nickname.
-Fine... He playfully rolled his eyes, imitating Violet.
Sophie, in her thoughts, blessed God for the day he put Louis in her life.
( @stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale, here’s some new Louphie fluff for you :3)
Hmm, this is quite hard to do for a character who doesn’t have a personality within the game lol. Since we don’t know what Sophie is actually like, i’m mostly just basing this on her fondness for art for the most part.
(This can be interpreted as platonic or romantic).
- Whenever Minnie and Violet would go somewhere to be alone together, Sophie would hang out with Louis. This is how the two of them bonded and got to properly know each other outside of stuff involving the group. They would discuss art and the aspirations they had about their future before things went to shit. Their fondness for the arts both visual and auditory created a sense of “kindred spirit” between them.
- During the early days of the zombie outbreak when they were all still children, Sophie once caught Louis crying by himself near the side of the school. Not knowing how to comfort him, she sat beside him on the ground and began drawing. Louis would quietly watch her, mesmerised by the illustrations she would create seemingly from her imagination.
- She made him a drawing of his pet turtle that day which he has kept on his wall even long after her death.
- They used to pass notes to each other during class. Louis would send her jokes making fun of the teacher, and she would send them back with an illustration of it that would crack him up resulting in the two of them getting chewed out by the headmaster. At the end of the day, Louis would keep these notes and pin them to the wall in his room.
- Some nights after tucking Tenn into bed, she would step outside the dorms for some quiet reflection time and would occasionally hear the quiet playing of piano music from the common room signalling that Louis was also awake. Not wanting to interrupt him, she would instead make her way over to the main building and sit outside by the steps and close her eyes. Listening to his music while she let her mind wander and take her on journeys to places more peaceful.
- Louis’ music was one of the only things outside of painting that made her feel calm and grounded in the world. She would always encourage him to learn new songs and chastise any of the other kids who would mock his playing skills.
- When Louis thought she wasn’t looking, Sophie would open up her sketchbook and draw him. She would never admit it out loud due to Minnie’s teasing, but she always thought he looked beautiful. Something about his smile and eyes often inspired her to draw. She had an intuitive feeling that there was an emotional layer of him that he kept hidden from people, and she made it her own personal mission to try and capture that within her artwork of him.
- Louis would often try to compose pieces of music that went along with Sophie’s paintings. It ended up becoming a thing where the two of them would try and create their own mini plays together where Sophie would create backdrops for the story and narrate it and Louis would add some fitting atmosphere via soundtrack. It helped a lot to calm down the younger children whenever they were feeling scared and couldn’t sleep at night.
Louis starts to feel weird about a certain ginger girl...But does she feels the same ? (Drabble challenge by @stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale, Day 3 : ‘You Make Me Laugh’)
Louis liked giving joy to the others.
It wasn’t new, he always did that since the apocalypse happened.
After everything went shit over the years (the adults abandoning them the first days, Ms.Martin’s death, and other kids’ deaths…) It was just unbearable. The general ambience was sinister, sad, depressing...It just felt wrong for the other kids to be happy while some of their camarades/friends passed away.
But Louis knew it wasn’t exactly true. What’s the point of always fearing an unguaranteed future ? The only moment we have for sure, is the present, the actual day. Enjoy the present as much as we can. It wasn’t about forgetting the dead, but living as much as we could, for them, was more faitful to their memory than just grieving until death arrives…
Of course, while he sure managed to light up the mood sometimes...His belief was mocked. In general, he didn’t get recognition for his acts. Instead…
« I wish your mouth would cease. »
« You get more and more stupid every day. »
« Shut. up. »
« Can you use your brain for once, instead of joking around ? »
He was insulted. Even by Marlon, in his back. But...They were his friends (Marlon was like a brother)...They don’t insult him for nothing... At some point, he thought : Maybe I deserve it.
I deserve to be insulted.
So, as much as it hurt him to listen to those insults, he never talked back with spite, he just...took it.
Out of the Ericson kids, 4 of them weren’t as much annoyed by him as were the others.
Shaun, the sheepish blonde autist. Louis was his best friend, sometimes he had troubles to dissociate a joke from a quote, sure, but he was supportive of his effort to light up the mood.
Idryssa. The co-leader with Marlon. If Marlon was like a brother for Louis, Idryssa was an elder sister. She was a music fan herself, not to the point of playing an instrument, but still. Idryssa always took care of the kids, whatever their age, whatever where they came from. She always liked some Louis’ jokes as she rested from her ‘job’.
And finally, the twins. Minerva Elenore and Sophie Marie Evergreen. The gingers from Dublin, with their adopted brother Tennessee. (well, not exactly from Dublin, they came from NYC, but their family was originally from Dublin.)
Minerva was an excellent singer, with a voice made for blues. Eventually she composed some songs with Louis (inclunding ‘Don’t Be Afraid’, when the others couldn’t sleep after the adults left.). She was nice, beautiful, and she like some Louis’ jokes. She was one of most popular girls in school, but at the end Violet, out of everyone, seemed to have won her heart (Louis was surprised by that, but not in a bad way. Minerva seemed to make Violet happy. And Louis cared a lot about Violet, so if Minerva gave Violet the happiness she always deserved, Louis would always support their couple.)
And there was Sophie.
Sophie, at first, wasn’t as popular as Minnie was. She was perceived as a ‘goody-two-shoes’, always ranting about the others’ slurs, intervening in their arguments to try and stop them...
« Can’t you just fuck off, Esther ? »
« Only when you’ll give me my stuff back ! »
Louis feared the following of this argument, since everytime Mitch and Esther get into one…
« For fuck’s sake, for the last time IT’S NOT ME !! I’m not into stealing girls’ stuff... »
Mitch smirked. « Or boys stuff, I don’t know with you... »
THIS element is mentioned.
« If I were you, I’d take back immediatly BEFORE I CRUSH YOUR SK-- » Esther dashed to Mitch.
But suddenly Sophie intervened and put herself between them, pushing Esther back.
« Can you both just STOP fighting for a day ?! You don’t think we have enough...»
Sophie retained herself from swearing.
« Mess to deal with already ? The food, the walkers...And such ? »
Esther and Mitch looked at each other, seeming to calm down. But sadly it was an impression.
« We didn’t call for you, Goody-shoes ! »
« Mind your fucking business Soph ! »
It pained Louis to see Sophie get insulted like that, she didn’t deserve it…
Louis looked beyond her supposed ‘goody-shoes’ personality. And he discovered an artist, an excellent painter, drawer (she liked to draw portraits of some kids, including him, Shaun, Minnie and Violet...They were so living!) Her entire dorm was covered of drawings she made, when he walked into it he felt like he was transported into an other dimension, full of colors, of dreams, where he could go anywhere he wanted...It made him forget about how dark and sinister it was outside.
And he admired Sophie for that.
Sophie had the same sense of humor as him, the same taste of music, that same will of preserving the arts (well, as much as two teenagers can do in a boarding school cut out of the rest of the world by an apocalypse…) So it surprised nobody when they cracked some jokes together and giggled while dinners or card games, or when they passed days in the music room, composing and drawing together (Louis was terrible at drawing, but Sophie never minded, ‘Drawing is a matter of learning and doing’ after all).
But, as months passed, and as Louis got closer and closer with Sophie, the admiration, the friendly feelings he had for her turned into something...Different.
He sometimes surprised himself at doing nothing, just admiring her drawing some new countrylands, noticing her red freckles on her charming face, her blue-sky eyes, her long ginger hair that went to her waist…
As he tchatted with her, he had a weird feeling in his stomach, he felt more...free, happy, calm.
When she smiled, he smiled too. He liked how bright she was when she smiled. He wanted to make her happy, more than the others…
« Louis ? »
« Yes, Idryssa ? »
« I think...You have a crush on Sophie. A big one. »
Love.
If he had expected that…
Apart from supporting Violet on her crush on Minnie, the last time he dealt with love (in a way) was when...He caused his parents’ divorce.
He didn’t want to ruin his relationship with Sophie. And...If he has a crush on her...Does she return his feelings ? Does she loves him back ?
Everything in his head said no, she just sees you as a friend.
One night…
They were in the music room, Louis writing a music of his own on the music sheets.
Sophie was sat on the piano stool, close to him. She had concern in her gaze.
Usually, they tchat a lot, about anything, when they are together.
But it wasn’t the case today, Louis barely talked.
« Louis ? »
He didn’t seem to listen, still focused on his music sheets, but he looked lost, sad…
« Is...Are you allright ? »
« Yeah... » Louis finally said, with an unsure tone.
Sophie grew more and more worried.
« Louis, I’m...You can tell me everything, you know that ? »
Louis finally stopped his writing and turned his head to her, meeting her concerned gaze.
« I...I know. »
« So...What’s wrong ? »
Louis turned his head. « I... »
Sophie was definitely worried. Louis was her best friend, she cared for him, like, A LOT. Everytime he wasn’t his ‘Happy goofy jokester’ self (God, this nickname was just ridiculously funny), she didn’t felt okay, at all. When he was happy, she was, but the opposite was also true...It felt weird.
« What do you...think about me ? »
What ?
Louis must have seen her shocked face, as he stuttered, trying to change of subject « N-Nevermind, that’s not imp-- »
« I t-think you are... a good friend, Louis. »
Louis turned his head back to her. Did he hear it right ?
« Do you -- »
« Mean it ? Yes, I mean it Louis. You are a good friend. You always care about the others, you have such a big heart, whatever Mitch... » Sophie spited as she looked at the tag Mitch carved on the piano ‘You suk at playing’ (God she wanted to punch him sometimes...Mitch might be a big brother for Willy, but he was still a douchebag when he wanted) « or Marlon, or Esther….or Vi...Or anyone says about you. You’re not careless, nor stupid, even if you joke around, even if you play piano all the time...You just, try to light up the mood and make the others smile for once, and they should be grateful to you for that ! »
Louis had his eyes wide open. Never, in all his life, someone respected, heck, COMPLIMENTED him for his efforts. He expected no one would.
« A-And... » Sophie felt her cheeks heat up for the first time, as she shyly scratched her neck « Your jokes themselves are funny. You make me laugh. »
Louis was freezed. He knew she made Sophie laugh, that wasn’t the surprise. The surprise was that she admitted it, like it wasn’t a problem. Sure, Violet, when she didn’t do her usual eyes roll (he liked making her do it) laughed, but it was kinda rare, Louis assumed his humor annoyed her and the others more than anything…
But to hear Sophie liked his jokes…
« Louis ? » Louis went back to reality as Sophie called her. She looked concerned, scared, like she feared that she said something wrong.
« Sophie... »
Sophie felt her breathing changing, growing more and more itched, stressed.
« I’m serious Louis, I mean every word I just said. »
Another unbearable silence.
Louis turned his head back to the music sheets, then to Sophie.
« Honnestly, your humor might be lame for the others, but...It makes me laugh, genuinely. »
Louis took an heavy breath.
« Sophie...Thank you. For everything. » He finally said.
« You’re welcome, Louis. »
« I mean » Louis cut her, trying to find his words « Thank you for...your kind words. I mean...Not everyone is mean at me, b-but...Sometimes, it’s just... » Louis suddenly felt Sophie’s hand on his.
He looked down, and noticed how close Sophie was to her, her hand on his and her beautiful blue sky eyes laid on him.
fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckdon’tpanicnow
« Hey, it’s okay.. » Sophie felt her cheeks heat more « Calm down, you don’t have to panic about that. »
« I don’t panic because of that... » Louis shyly said « It’s just...I’m not used to it. Everyone hears the jokes, the piano...and after that, they stop listening. » Louis smiled at Sophie « You didn’t . »
Sophie smiled back.
« I’ll never stop listening to you, Lou. I-I... » Sophie blushed so much, she prayed that Louis wouldn’t see it.
« I love you. »
Louis went mute again, his eyes wide open. He turned his head back to the piano.
He couldn’t believe it. She returned his feelings. She loved him back !
He laughed out of relief, she loved him ! Him, out of every boy (and girl, he doesn’t mind) in the school !
« I love you too, Sophie ! » The ginger girl gasped. « I love you since a long time, but...I-I was scared of being...I was scared that you’d only see me as a friend... » Louis confessed.
« Of course I see you as more than a friend, you dork ! » She lightly punched him in the arm.
« I care a lot about you, Lou. I love you, since the beginning. »
They looked at each other, deeply into each other’s eyes, Sophie into chocolate browns Louis’s eyes, him into her blue sky eyes, matching her backwards cap and her denim vest.
Eventually, she put her hand on his neck and pulled him into a passionate kiss. As their lips met, both felt that weird twist in their stomach finally disappearing, replaced by a nice, warm feeling. As Sophie read into a book, that feeling is called ‘butterflies in stomach’ and the nice feeling is the ‘butterflies’ flying out.
She liked that poetic metaphor.
As they ended the kiss, they looked lovely at each other. Deep in themselves, they sweared they’d stay together as long as they could, to do everything to make the other smile. Because it was worth it.
